


Prologue: Alone on the Hill

by jchao745



Series: In The Mid-Autumn: The Sorry We Couldn't Say that Day [1]
Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-09
Updated: 2016-01-09
Packaged: 2018-05-12 20:19:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5679427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jchao745/pseuds/jchao745
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She looks at him while words stumble in her mouth. She knows them too well and her reason is too clear, yet she can't bring herself to say those few words. He stands in front so still that it seems like he could stay there forever. His face is emotionless with no blush on his cheeks or an cringe of impatience. He's waiting for her but knows that her lips won't move. He steps aside with his hands dug in his pockets and just as he passed her, she whispers "I'm ...", stopping him frozen still again. "Don't be," he answers as he begins to walk away. She turns to see the firm back of the boy disappear into the distance. She was one word away but he is already far in front of her, his back always facing her. She wonders if she is able to walk beside him and see his face like before.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Prologue: Alone on the Hill

“You promised you wouldn't think about it anymore". The boy's head was against his locker in the empty hallway, silent, while the girl reminded him of his own words.  
"I already told you she wouldn't say yes. She likes someone else". 

And it was true, but the boy didn't seem to care. Getting annoyed, he closed his eyes, to see if he would fall asleep to get away.

"This is why..." The girl paused. She fidgeted around, trying to think of a way to talk to her friend. She breathed in, trying to hold back her words, but let it all out. "THIS IS WHY I HATE BOYS LIKE YOU!"

The girl never looked at him and instead stared down onto the floor like how the boy did to the locker. But no matter how much she wished not to look at him, she had an urge to. The boy was looking at her now. He wasn't shocked or hurt. It was straight and emotionless. His stare was quiet and dead, thoughtless.

After a short time, the boy left, passing her without a single word. The girl didn't move for a while. They both never looked at each other when they passed.

The girl stood there thinking about what just happened. She began to question herself on what she just did. She walked a few steps forward to be at his locker. She knew it was his locker , number 929, because it was the locker they would meet at after school everyday, before they left.

She noticed that the locker had no lock on it, and curiously reached over and laid her hand against his locker, slipping her hand down to the silver latch. She clutched the handle and felt the warmth from the lowering sun, looming at the side of the school.

She opened the locker; it was empty.

The next day, after school ended, she stood by his locker, and waited for him to come. She had something she really wanted to say to him. She was there for a long time and it seemed like he would never come. She then began to count the people who passed her who said hello. She soon lost count, so she decided to count the number of negro backpacks that caught her eye.  
The day was about to come to an end, and the sun was at the same height as it was yesterday, when she saw him last. With fewer people in the school, she couldn't think of anymore things to count. The only thing in her mind was the population of the hallway: two people, herself, and the janitor down the hall. Still, the boy never passed by. His locker was still empty.

Tonight, in the town, was the annual Mid-Autumn Festival, an event they both went to together ever since they were young. It might had been their last festival together. They were both in eighth grade and middle school was coming to an end. They were certain they would both go to different high schools afterward.

The festival had already begun and the girl could hear the laughs and cheers of children. She imagined them running around with gifts and souvenirs in their hands, going from store to store. Sitting on the hill by the cherry tree, she began to think of the times she used to do the same with her friends. "They're probably still down there having fun" she thought, sighing with jealousy of the things she could’ve been doing. She could still remember the night she met the boy. It was only a few years ago, when she was still in elementary school.

Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket and she took out her cell phone and saw that one of her friends was calling her. She pressed the green call button and put the cell phone close to her ear. There was no response on the other side and she looked at the screen once more. She missed the call at the last second. A voice-mail message popped up in that instant and the girl opened it and put it on speaker. She laid down on the hill and listened to the message with her eyes closed. 

"Hey it’s me. We're at the …", there was a beep from the phone and on the screen it said "message deleted".

"He's late." she said to herself, picking up her phone again and dialing his number; "710-5858". His name immediately popped up as a contact at "710" but she wanted to put in each and every number. After a few long rings, the phone came back with a message she didn't want to hear; "I'm sorry, but the person you are trying to reach does not have a voice mailbox set up. Thank you for calling". She couldn't even hear the boy say his own name. She couldn't even say the things she wanted to say in a voicemail.

She dialed a different number and the other side responded with, "Hey, where are you. We're at the-"

"He's not coming," the girl abruptly cut her off, cuddling in a ball, holding back her tears.

After a few moments of silence, the girl on the other side tried her best to comfort her, "If it makes you feel better, we saved some cotton candy for you. We're at the river with the lanterns. There's not too many people yet, so you can easily find us. See you later," the girl on the other end hung up.

The girl looked at the festival from the hill and could see the reflection of the full moon in the river. The river was dark, but the litter of lanterns and the light of the moon brightened the festival with all sorts of colors. She wished the boy was there to see this sight as she got up from the grassy hill, and she walked to the end of the hill. Before she was consumed by the thick forest's magic, she looked at the tree behind her for one last time; the tree they both planted together, just after they knew each others' names. The girl walked away, never to come back to the hill ever again, never to see the ocean of lanterns and sky of fireworks. The girl never thought about the tree again.


End file.
